xxxii INTRODUCTION. 



The track of the "Albatross" on PI. 234 will indicate those islands which 

 are colored from our observations, or from other reliable information, as 

 well as those which have been colored by analogy. 



A very convenient " Index to the Islands of the Pacific Ocean " with 

 tlieir synonymy has been published by Dr. William T. Brigham in No. 2, 

 Vol. I., of the Memoirs of the B. P. Bishop Museum (1900). It will be 

 noticed that the spelling of many of the atolls and islands often differs 

 in the text, in the charts, and in the "Sailing Directions." This has been 

 unavoidable, as the English, American, French, and German charts have 

 not adopted the same nomenclature as that of the English " Sailing Direc- 

 tions." This I have generally followed. Even the nomenclature of succes- 

 sive editions of the same charts often varies. 



An exploration like that made by the "Albatross" through the tropical 

 Pacific suggests a number of interesting problems, such as the comparative 

 study of the fauna and flora of oceanic islands, the geological examination of 

 the volcanic, continental, or oceanic islands scattered throughout the Pacific ; 

 to say nothing of the study of the human races inhabiting them. Such 

 studies become each year more difficult from the inroads of civilization, 

 which affect the inhabitants as well as the fauna and flora. 



It was our intention to investigate the marine fauna of each of the 

 great oceanic groups of islands and trace the passage of the littoral into the 

 abyssal fauna, and to obtain the material needed for a comparison of iso- 

 lated oceanic faunae to one another. Unfortunately we were not able to 

 carry out this part of our programme. 



After the publication of the results of my expedition to the Maldives 

 during the winter of 1901 to 1902, I hope to present in a connected form 

 a resume of the observations recorded during the fifteen seasons I have 

 devoted to the study of coral reefs. 



In spite of all that has been accomplished during the last twenty-five 

 years towards settling the debatable points of the theory of coral reefs, 

 much remains to be done. Most important is an extensive system of boring 

 at well-selected points, to include barrier and fringing reefs and atolls in 

 volcanic or other districts, as well as elevated coralliferous limestone islands 

 or islands partly limestone and partly volcanic. Tiie boring should be sup- 



